The Haunting of the Night Marchers of Kualoa
by Tanith2011
Summary: When two of Five-O's detectives find themselves in a precarious situation with men hired to execute them, their only hope of survival lies in the hands of the spirits of ancient Hawaiian warriors, but will they be allowed to live to tell the tale? A challenge response for Halloween inspired by challenges set out in The Coconut Wireless Forum and Memories of Hawaii Five-O website.


_**AN: Written in response to challenges #1, 2 and 6. Hope y'all had a fun Halloween!**_

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><p>The drive was short, relentlessly silent and filled with a foreboding tension that threatened to suffocate the detective who sat between two men, each holding a loaded gun on either side of his ribs.<p>

As the car pulled off the Kamehameha highway and turned into a track that led to the scenic valley of Kualoa, Chin prayed that his friend and colleague had had the chance to call HPD for back-up. What was meant to have been a routine stakeout that Halloween night turned into a nightmare when a tip-off alerted Hendricks' men to the detectives' presence. Caught by the underworld figures, Kalakaua and Kelly became separated at the docks when their car stalled. While Chin held on to the hope that his Hawaiian colleague had somehow escaped and that HPD would not be far behind, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong and that help was not going to find him in time.

The car stopped and Chin was forcefully dragged out of the car. With no way of talking his way out of the situation, the Oriental detective said a silent prayer for his family. Another car pulled up behind the first and Chin's heart sank when he saw Kono, also held at gun point, stepping out of the vehicle.

The man holding on to Chin smirked. "Just like one, big happy family, right fellas?"

The rest of the men laughed and pulled out their flashlights as they forced their captives to march on ahead of them down a dirt track that led into a dense rainforest.

Unarmed, alone and at the mercy of five heavily armed men, Five-O's finest had no choice but to comply. A brief glance in each other's direction provided a small measure of hope that an opportunity to escape might still be at hand.

A hard shove in the back sent Chin to his knees. "Move it!"

Kelly quickly scrambled to his feet and continued walking through the forest until it opened up to a clearing. A rough hand held him by the shoulder stopping him in midstride.

"That's far enough," a voice commanded. "Get down on your knees, both of you!"

"Listen, you don't have to do this," Chin tried one last time to talk sense into their would-be executioners but a kick behind his knees brought him down.

"Shut up, cop! We call the shots now. There ain't nobody here to hear you. No one even knows you're here. By the time they find your bodies, we'll be long gone," the taller of the crims retorted.

"You're making a huge mistake, bruddah. McGarrett – " Kono's effort was interrupted when a backhanded slap across the face cut him off and left him reeling.

"McGarrett! Our boss has plans for him yet. You've both had your last words so let's get this over with nice and quick."

The Hawaiian detective swallowed hard as his brown eyes looked down the barrel of a pistol. The breeze picked up suddenly and the atmosphere seemed to change. Goosebumps rose on his arms and he wondered if this was his body's way of responding to a near death situation or if it was something else entirely. Something about these valleys that his grandmother had told him when he grew up resurfaced in his mind. So when a strong musky odour greeted him and the faint but distinct sounds of a drum beating and a conch shell being blown met his ears, he was certain he knew what was coming.

"What the hell was that?" The man holding the gun to Chin's forehead wheeled around and scanned the tree line behind him for the source of the noise to make an appearance.

A row of torches can now be seen through the trees and another, louder blow of the conch shell sounded. This time a chorus of undecipherable chanting filled the ears of Hendricks' henchmen.

"I thought this place was meant to be deserted at this hour! Are these people nuts?"

"Just get on with it!"

"There's too many witnesses, Carl! We can't shoot all of them!"

The man named Carl cursed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The situation had just gotten more complicated and he hated complications. "Fine. We'll go back to the car and find someplace else."

"Are you kidding me? They'll see us!"

Carl stepped forward and took a handful of the insubordinate man's shirt. "And what do you suggest, Haynes? That we stand here in the middle of the field until those weirdos finish their chanting? I say we move now! We can use the trees as cover."

While the crooks debated on their next course of action, the Chinese detective tried to make eye contact with Kalakaua but his Hawaiian friend's attention was wrapped on the procession beyond the trees.

The chanting grew louder and the flame lit torches shone brighter as they drew nearer. The warm night air became chilly and the breeze picked up speed.

"What the hell?" Haynes' argument died on his lips when a misty vapour rolled in and formed into a thick, choking fog, swirling around his legs and moving higher until he couldn't see anything below his waist.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chin ducked down and crawled on his belly in the direction he's last seen Kono. He couldn't see anything ahead of him and he relied on his memory to judge the distance he had to close to reach his friend.

"Hey where'd the China man go?" Carl called out, heatedly, when he realized one of their prisoners had disappeared. "Find him! Jenkins, keep an eye on his friend!"

Chin stopped in his tracks and tried to take slow quiet breaths. If he could just get Kono's attention then maybe they could somehow work their way out of this mess. But he had no idea how he was going to be able to do that without giving himself away.

The temperature continued to drop and the fog thickened and rose higher until the men in the clearing were covered up to their shoulders. The wind blew in heavy gusts and the stars disappeared from the night sky as thunder rolled and rain drops fell in earnest.

A different kind of fear gripped Kono as he listened to the chanting and steady rhythm of the drum beats. His instincts told him to lie flat on the ground and play dead but first he had to find Chin and warn his friend of what was coming. To do that he had to take out the man who held him by the shoulder. The moment he felt movement in Jenkins' grip, Kono seized his chance, ducked down and tackled the man around the ankles.

"Jenkins!" Haynes shouted when he saw his accomplice go down. He hurried toward the fallen man with his gun held out in front of him.

"What the…," Carl's question faded into the roaring wind as he watched the row of torches break the tree line and head toward them. He couldn't be sure if the fog was playing tricks on his eyes but he was willing to bet his last dime that the figures carrying the torches were transparent.

A shot rang out as Jenkins fired wildly from where he lay, his bullet missing Kono by mere inches but caught Haynes' in the leg.

The wounded criminal cried out in pain and fell to the ground, holding his injured leg.

Carl wiped face as the lashing rain clouded his vision. His heart hammered in his chest and he felt sick to his stomach as the foul stench in the air filled his nostrils. As much as he wanted to get away from there, he knew he would be a dead man if he didn't complete his mission first. Ignoring the odour as best he can, he scanned the area around him, looking for any sign of where the detectives may be hiding.

A hand clapped on Chin's shoulder, startling the detective.

"Shh, it's me, Bruddah," Kono whispered.

Chin let out a low sigh of relief and tugged on Kono's sleeve, indicating they needed to get out of there immediately.

"No, wait! Da _huaka'i pō …._night marchers…deywon't let us pass through dem," Kono hissed. "Stay down, keep quiet and don't look at dem." He got down on his stomach and pulled his companion down with him, indicating he do the same.

Not quite sure that Kono's idea was going to work and not entirely understanding what the night marchers were, Chin reluctantly flattened himself against the ground. He listened to Carl's shouting over the din of the crashing thunder, the beating drums and the chanting.

Jenkins rolled to his feet and looked wildly around him. Having lost his bearings, he took several steps forward then stopped. He could no longer see where his accomplices were through the fog. He looked to his left and to his right before facing the front again when he was met by a tall bare-chested Hawaiian native brandishing a spear. Jenkins opened his mouth but no sound came forth. The next thing he felt was the breath leaving his body and his chest tightening in agony. He dropped to his knees as darkness consumed him.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Haynes cried out, panic settling in. He pressed his hand against the wound on his leg but the blood continued to seep through his fingers and no matter how much pressure he added, he couldn't slow the bleeding. Consciousness slipped away and inevitably so did his life as his heart gave out.

Two translucent figures stepped up to Karl and stood in his path. The criminal raised his gun and demanded, "Who are you people?" When no answer came forth, he threatened to shoot them if they did not step aside.

A stone club came down hard on Carl's arm, breaking the bones in his flesh. The gun fell to the ground, lost in the fog. Carl screamed and hugged his damaged arm against himself. Another scream sounded to his left followed by yet another nearby and he realized he had just lost two more men which meant he was all alone now. "What do you want?" He all but pleaded with the warriors before him. Clearly, these people belonged to some kind of cult and he was not about to be finished off by them. Maybe he could offer them money. It was worth a try, he thought. "Look, if you're after money, just tell me how much."

Meanwhile, Kono kept himself as still as he could and convinced Chin to do the same.

"Who are they?" Chin asked in a low voice.

"Dey're spirit warriors reliving past battles. Never, ever look dem in the eye or interfere with da march. Bettah not to look at dem at all. Stay still, be quiet and wait until dey pass. Dey will not harm you if dey don't notice you," Kono explained as quickly as he could.

Chin nodded his acceptance of Kono's explanation, though he couldn't deny that he didn't understand completely. The whole situation also went against his duty to serve and protect. Even though Hendricks' men had set out to kill them tonight, he didn't feel it was right that they failed to protect them from harm to allow justice be taken care of by the courts. Whoever or whatever these night marchers were, they were taking human lives and Chin couldn't allow that them to continue. He started to rise but firm hands held him down.

Kono sensed his friend's doubts and tried to reassure him that there was nothing they could do. "It's out of our hands now. Dere's nothing we can do. Trust me, please, Bruddah."

Carl's scream cut through the air. Chin and Kono tensed their bodies and prayed that they would not meet the same fate as footsteps marched past them and into the clearing. The detectives stayed down and waited for the chanting to fade away into the night, along with the drums. The thunder grew distant, the wind died down to a gentle breeze and the rain eased. The drum beats were replaced by sirens and the fog faded away like it had never appeared.

Chin and Kono did what they could to revive the five fallen men until paramedics took over and announced they were all dead. Cardiac arrest was the preliminary ruling as the cause of death but they knew they would have to wait for the coroner's reports for the official confirmation. The sight of a black Ford Mercury meant that the detectives needed to come up with some kind of rational explanation for their boss on what transpired that night.

"Now comes the hard part," Chin stated.

PAU


End file.
